I WOULD LIKE TO GET A GENERAL CONCENSUS ON THE E-QSL'ING THAT YOU CAN DO OVER THE INTERNET. HAS ANYONE TRIED IT AND IF SO HOW HAVE YOU LIKED IT. HOW HAS THE RESPONSE BEEN ON THE OTHER END. THANKS---W4HGG

I think the challenge in e-QSLing is in Newington. I know many people/groups are thinking about e-QSLing, and I'm sure someone will provide the technology to make it happen. What ever group this is, will be well connected at the League I'm sure.

Though I am generally in agreement with ARRL, I think they are missing the boat on this one. PGP-signed e-QSL is just as secure (and probably much more secure) than regular cards. The fact is QSLing is get more and more expensive & the delays are longer and longer, and its just not necessary. If we want new hams not to lose interest, we should be thinking of ways to make things like awards chasing easier and more fun.

I have been E-QSLing for about six months with mostly Europe & the USA. Since I don't care about ARRL approval this works fine business for me. In other words, getting the extra photos mean more to me than any ARRL awards would. And yes there is a 20 foot wall around the ARRL. They have absolutely ignored my letters for twenty years now. Even when I threatened to drop my membership, they still won't respect me enough to reply to anything I write to them about. It's the old saw, it's who you know.......

I recently came across a site--e.qsl.cc which seems to be headed in the right direction....in fact I had 2 e-qsl's waiting there for me before I had even explored the site. They request a $5 or more donation but I haven't sent it in yet. I sent a QSL thru it to another known user and he rec'd it ok.....you design your own QSL using the designs they have, several choices are in color....if a member posts a qsl to you and you are not a member, you have to enter the date and band before you can retrieve it.

I like the idea of eQSLs, but I may be the only one posting that will be sorry if it becomes the norm. Each year I have been a ham, something else passes on. I have cards from the 60's & 70's that I wouldn't trade for anything. Each one signed by the other hams own hand, creating a personal momento or a valued treasure.

Putting that aside, eQSLing is probably the best alternative for the future. The cost, time and waste will be eliminated, but I hope the value isn't lost as well.

i think e-qsl-ing sucks. a qsl if - in my opinion - something very personal, a pice of paper which can be individually designed, and not a file on my computer. just imagine you've gotta headcrash - all QSL's gone? imagine you want to show the QSL-cards to your friend who's interested in ham radio? will he believe that these files on the computer come from a rare dxcc in the pacific or in africa? if you can show him a REAL QSL card he will believe for sure... just my opinion on this. the QSL-card is - in my opinion - one of the most exciting thing in amateur radio. every qsl tells an individual story. don't replace it by some bit's and bytes!

I like real QSL's too. There's nothing as nice as opening the mailbox and finding a card in there. But let's face it; printing costs are up, postage is through the roof, and the culture has changed. It's over $300 to send 100 cards (not counting the cost of the cards) and I have an ARRL logbook full of QSO's....

I keep my log on computer now (transferring the info to paper after each session -- I still like to sit sometimes and just look at the entries. Each means something to me, though fewer than 1% are QSL'd.) Wouldn't it be great to dump that log to a server somewhere so people who are looking for New Mexico or Bernalillo county for some award could just pick it up? Maybe years after the fact? Small cost to them, small inconvienience to me.

I used to love getting letters in the mail. Now almost all my mail is e-mail. It's the way of things. There's nothing about e-QSL's that prevents them from being good-looking. There's nothing to stop you printing them and posting them in the shack. Head crash? At least one service seems to be planning to leave them on their server. We have to presume they're backed up on a regular basis.

Virtually every change to our culture has come about because of economics. This one will happen. All you can bet is that a few decades out, people will be complaining that the old custom of e-QSLing is dying off in favor of something else.

I think its the best way to do things. I wont use a service that i have to send my cards and envelopes to. NO THANKS. I use eqsl.com or direct. If the person wont do it that way then I don't want to Qsl.

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